Pirates Re-Acquire Brian Bixler

The Pirates re-acquired Brian Bixler from the Indians for a player to be named later, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter). Bixler, 27, has spent the 2010 season playing for the Indians' Triple A team, but he picked up 166 plate appearances for the Pirates from 2008-09. The 2004 second rounder has a .178/.238/.237 line at the major league level.

Bixler is hitting better at Triple A, where he has a .278/.345/.383 line as a super-utility player. He has played all three outfield positions and appeared at second, third and short so far this season. Oddly enough, Bixler is going from the Indians to the Indians, since he'll report to Pittsburgh's Triple A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.

I’m happy he’s going back to Pittsburgh. I hope he gets another shot with the club. Last year he had an awful debut when Wilson got hurt, but I think he’s a better player than that. The other question is, with Bixler coming back, does this mean that Crosby will be heading out?

I never understood Cleveland acquiring Bixler in the first place. They already had players with similar skills in their system. I think that the Pirates tried to sneak him through waivers and the Indians grabbed him.